Buckle.



PATBNTBD AUG. 14, 1906.

W. G. STRATTON.

y BUCKLE.. APPLICATION IILED JUNE 16,1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IILBUR G. STRATTON, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE CONNECTICUT WEB COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT,

A CORPORATION.

BUCKLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Talented Aug. 14, 1906.

Application filed June 16, 1905. Serial No. 265,477.

To f/,Zl zoll/0711, it 'may concern.:

Beit known that I, VVILBUR G. STRATTON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in suspender-buckles, and is especially related to buckles of that type known as rustless In the general form of buckles of the type :referred to it has been necessary to provide special constructions of loop members in order to obtain effective results in fastening the buckles in adjusted positions. Moreover, with such buckles it has also been diflicult to adapt the general constructions to both thick and thin webbing, and consequentlyT their use has not extended to varying thicknesses of webbing without making the buckles especially for thick webbing and others for thin webbing.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a rustless buckle the construction of which is such as to employ the ordinary loop member of common form and to so arrange the elements that a single buckle will adapt itself to either thick or thin webbing, thereby overcoming the necessity for separate buckles conforming to the thickness of the webbing with which it is desired to employ the buckles.

A further object of the present invention is to so position the clamping means as to enable the same to engage the webbing more effectually than in the usual type of rustless buckle.

Having these general objects in view and others, which will appear as the nature of the improvements is better understood, the invention consists, substantially, in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described', illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a buckle constructed in accordance with the present invention connected to the webbing. Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the same, the buckle being open. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, the buckle being closed. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view, the parts being in the position illustrated in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the buckle detached from the webbing viewing the same from the front thereof. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 viewing the buckle from the rear. Fig. 7 is an elevation of another form of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the letters A and B designate, respectively, the loop and clamping members of the herein-described buckle. As clearly seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the loop member A is the common form, being substantially rectangular in contour and comprising a lower bar l, an upper bar 2, and end bars 3, whereby the bars l and 2 are connected together.

The clamping member B is preferably formed of sheet metal, being stamped from a single piece and having at its upper and lower edges a pair of finger-pieces 5 and 6, through the medium of which the clamping member may be readily manipulated. At the ends of the member 6 and at points in proximity to the upper finger-piece 5 is formed a pair of eyes 7, which eyes embrace the upper bar 2 of the loop member A, and thereby afford a pivotal connection between the loop member A and the clamping member B. The body of the clamping member B is punched out to form an opening 8, and the metal displaced is deiiected inwardly, as clearly seen in Fig. 4, to provide a series of teeth 9, adapted to engage the suspender-webbing when the latter is connected to the buckle and threaded in the manner to be described. It is to be observed that the teeth 9 are formed at a point whereby the same are positioned under the lower side of the upper bar of the loop member A when the members A and B are assembled, and the purpose of this is to enable the teeth 9 to grasp the webbing to a more effective degree than in the ordinary form of rustless buckle, and, furthermore, this positioning of the teeth 9 enables the buckle to be used with either thick or thin webbing, which is a desideratum in buckles of the rustless type.

In Fig. 7 is illustrated another form of the invention, and byreferring to this view it will be noted that the form therein disclosed is essentially the same as in the other views, eX- cept the upper linger-piece 5 of the clamping member is omitted and in lieu of forming the loop member A as a substantially continuous IOO loop the upper bar is omitted and the extremities of the end bars 3 are bent inwardly to a sufficient extent to form pintles l0, to which the clamping lmemberl B is pivoted; otherwisethe buckle is of precisely the same formation as illustrated in Figs. l to 6, inelusive.

In webbing the herein-described buckle the extremity of the lower reach C of the webbing is passed over the lower bar l of the loop member A and secured to said bar by stitching or in any other suitable manner. The upper reach D is then threaded through the lower member A between the bar 2 and the extremity of the lower reach C, carried by the bar 1, and in this position the upper reach D is adapted to be freely engaged by the teeth 9 of the clamping member B. The open position of the buckle is illustrated clearly in Fig. 2, wherein it will be seen that the loop member A occupies a substantially horizontal position, and when it is desired to close the buckle upon the webbing the clamping member B is thrown to the position illustrated in Fig. 3, in which position the member A occupies an inclined plane. In this closed position the teeth 9 are forced to a position beneath the upper bar of the loop A and into contact with the upper reach D of the webbing, and obviously the latter is forced over upon the upper end of the reach C, carried by the lower bar of the loop A. By reason of the inward deflection of the teeth 9 it will also be seen that the greater the tension exerted upon the webbing the greater will be the binding action of the teeth 9 thereupon, and also by reason of this construction of the teeth 9 it is possible to employ a plain rectangular form of loop, thereby overcoming the necessity for special construction of loop members, which is a common objection with the ordinary type of rustless buckles.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a buckle of the class described, the combination with a rectangular wire -loop member, of a clamping member pivoted thereto and formed of aplate, and a series of teeth deiiected inwardly from and intermediate the upper and lower edges of said plate and adapted to engage the suspender-webbing below the point of attachment of said clamping member with the loop member.

2. In a buckle of the class described, the

v combination with a rectangular wire-loop member, of a sheet-metal clamping member pivotally connected to said loop member at a point adjacent to the upper edge of the clamping member said clamping member extended both above and below said point of pivotal connection, a series of inwardly-deflected teeth carried by said clamping member and arranged thereon at a point below the point of pivotal connection of the clamping member with the loop member, said teeth being adapted to engage the suspenderwebbing.

3. In a buckle of the class described, the combination with a rectangular wire-loop member, of a clamping member pivotally connected thereto and extended both above and below said pivotal point, a series of inwardly-deiiected teeth carried by said clamping memberand arranged at a point below the point of pivotal connection between the clamping member and the loop member, and a suspender-webbing connected to theloop member, the upper reach of said webbing being threaded through the loop member and occupying a position between said teeth and the lower reach of the webbing attached to the loop member, whereby the upper reach is adapted to be engaged by said teeth at a point below the point of attachment of said clamping member with the loop member when the buckle is closed.

4. In a buckle of the class described, the combination with a substantially rectangular wire-loop member comprising a lower bar, an upper bar, and end bars connecting the upper and lower bars, of a clamping member pivotally connected to the upper bar of the loop member, a series of teeth deiiected inwardly from and intermediate the top and bottom edges of the clamping member and positioned thereon at a point below the point of pivotal connection of the clamping mem-.

ber with the loop member, and a webbing connected to the lower bar of the loop' member, the upper reach of said webbing being threaded through said loop member and occupying a position between the inwardly-deflected teeth and the lower bar of the loop member, whereby said teeth are adapted to engage the upper reach of the webbing at a point below the point of pivotal connection of the clamping member with the loop member when the buckle is closed.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this 9th day of June, A. D. 1905.

WILBUR G. STBATTON.

Witnesses:

C. M. NEWMAN, T. R. SENIOR.

IOO 

